Toddler Birthday Parties?

Austin is turning the big 2 in a few weeks here and we are really excited. Now we can offiicially blame the fits and destruction on the "terrible 2's". No, I am kidding. I love it that he is getting older, bigger, more independent, and who God has made him to be shines through more each day. So July 3rd is fast approaching and I am wondering birthday party with friends, balloons, games, the whole sha-bang, or the family party bar-b-que one more time. What does one do at a toddlers party? I have two visions. The first one, and I am dreaming here folks, is balloons, hot dogs (or pizza?), babypools, maybe a little bounce house and lots of bubbles with all the little tikes running around in pure joy. Time for cake and presents and then usher them out the door before the sugar high kicks in. The second, which I am afraid may be reality, is toddler meltdowns, fights over toys, kids bouncing out of the bounce house onto their heads, tears galore, and just maybe the kiddos will see the oppertunity for a revolt against the parents. I don't know, it's a toss up. Any experienced toddler party hosts out there?

I'm not looking back.

Right now is one of the best times of the day. The kids are in bed, the house is picked up (somewhat) and right now Tony just happens to be asleep in Austin's bed. Total peace. It's nice just to take a breath and know that the hard work of the day lies behind me. I was reading today in Hebrews 10. It was talking about how Abraham on God's command picked up and left in search of the promised land. He lived in tents with his family and existed as a foreigner. He left his home, maybe his parents, friends, and all that was familier. The cool thing about this story recap is that he never once looked back. He never thought about what he might be losing. He just had an immense amount of faith that what God had in store for him was that much better. Later God commanded him to kill his son Issac, the promised son that would make Abraham "Father Abraham" and bear him nations. Now did Abraham plead with God not to take his only son? No! He just assumed that well, God made me this promise that Issac would carry on my name, so, God must be planning on bringing him back from the dead. What faith! How I pray that my faith would grow to know with every possible part of my being that God has something that much better for me and that He will keep His promises to me. I love it! I love it that God is huge and amazing and so beyond words and understanding. In that I can find comfort and peace. Even when my day seems to be so tiresome and wearing, or frustrating or if I am hurting; God's promises are eternal and this moment that I live in right now will pass. Whew!

Widows, housework, humor and keeping the devil at bay

So funny thing I ran across while reading my Bible yesterday. I just thought I would share it for fun. Normally the Bible does not make me laugh out loud but this one sure did. I was reading in 1 Timothy 5:11- 15. It is talking about how a Church should be organized and in chapter 5 it talks about widows and what the church should do for them and what some of the attributes of a widow is and how to honor them. It says that if a widow was essentially a "good" widow then put her on "the list" (what list, I am not sure) but in verse 11 it says;

But refuse to put younger widows on the list, for when they feel sensual desires in disregard to Christ, they want to get married, thus incurring condemnation, because they have set aside their previous pledge. At the same time they learn to be idle, as they go from house to house; and not merely idle, but also gossips and busybodies, talking about things not proper to mention. Therefore, I want younger widows to get married bear children, keep house, and give the enemy no occasion for reproach; for some have already turned aside to follow satan.

So there you go folks. If anyone thought that being a married stay at home mom was easy here is our biblical proof that being a SAHM keeps us SO busy that it keeps the devil at bay. Ha! So, the combination of my dear husband, lovely children and never ending housework may be an essential key to my salvation. I love it! Never say that humor doesn't exist in the Bible.

Too green?

So this might be borderline "the goode" family but I thought that I might throw this out there for some FYI. I know I some of you might think that I am already crazy doing the cloth diaper thing but it's going great and is saving a TON of money, not to mention other benefits. So I ran across this product called the divacup while researching a product for CDing. It is similar to a tampon but reusable. Yes, it sounds gross. I thought so too. But looked into it a little more and it sounds intresting. We all know that tampons are bad (TSS) and pads are not my favorite thing in the world. Well this product claims to be better than a tampon. Minimal if no leaks, silicone, can't feel it, doesn't cause TSS, no smell, lighter cramps, wearable for up to 12 hours etc. All of this sounds good to me. So I think that I am going to check it out. If you would like to find out more about this product go to www.divacup.com. If you think that I am turning into a hippie, have no fears, I still wear deodorant, shave, and wear make-up. Some natural products just make more sense, that's all.

Learning to love HIm through loving others

There have been times lately where I have been prone to feeling sorry for myself. Being a mom is a tough job, so is being a loving understanding and selfless wife. I think the selflessness is the kicker word. Sometimes I have to really take some time to myself and refocus on what God has prepared for me. Learning to love Him through loving others is what it is all about. So, when I think about how much my little toddler is driving me to looneyville or wondering what in the world possessed me to say yes on one of the best days of my life I need to remember all of these big "burdens" are also some of the greatest gift that God has given to me. I have to remember that these are my joys. I may not always enjoy what the present circumstance may be, but I am in it for the long haul. This moment, this season, will pass. At the end of it I want to be able to say that no, I didn't always jump for joy when the kids were screaming or my husband didn't meet my immediate need, but I was faithful to love them by loving Jesus first. My love for Him overflowed and doused my family and those around me with a genuine love. A love the He first demonstrated for me. "love you neighbor as yourself" is a verse that is SO challenging, yet so illustrative of my own walk with Christ. I only need to take a moment to see all that God has blessed me and my family with. I need to be faithful, to be obedient and love as He is showing me how to love. Just learning how to love my family, who I love anyways, is tough. Learning to love the people who I really don't have an obligation to is the next step. God, help keep my heart supple through this process of learning to Love. I know that great things will follow in my obedience. I love you God, help me to love others too. Help me to be selfless and seek your heart in all that I do and think. Thank You for placing people in my life that I can show love to. Amen.

Cloth Diapers in Action

Cloth Diapers are much easier than I expected. I love the BumGenius 3.0. They are so easy. The prefolds and covers are pretty easy too. They are much cheaper but require two steps instead of one and are pretty bulky. I am more used to the bulky butt now, when I first put them on Addison, I was a little suprised. I love how much money we will be saving and feel good about being kind to the enviroment. The CD's are totally cute too. It has been warm here so I have been putting Addison in just a shirt and diaper. She is too cute. I feel good about our switch to cloth. I would reccomend them to any mom. They really are not that much more work than diposables. After using them I wonder why disposable are such the norm when cloth are pretty easy and save so much money. We haven't has any leaks yet and the only thing that I may not completely love is changing cloth while out and about. I think that I am just not used to it yet. It does require grabbing an item or two more than when going out with disposables. Oh did I mention that we are not doing the ol "toilet dunk and swirl"? We have this nifty diaper shower thing that connects to your toilet plumbing. You just aim and spray. It's pretty cool. Austin thinks so too, he gave our whole bathroom a good spray down when we connected it. So far he hasn't figured out how to turn it on by himself though. The first time was my fault. I didn't turn it all the way off before he got to it. I will post a pic of Addi in a diaper later. I've got to run. Austin is being too quiet for comfort.

The Joys (or sorrows) of Potty Training

So now I know why I was dreading potty training so much. The Poop. Yuck, I know that you probaly don't want to read this but I am the one who had to clean it up. Consider yourself lucky. I am not good with stinkiness. I have a horrible gag reflex. When Liberty was a puppy Tony did most of the dirty clean up. So today, not too long ago, I was checking my email. I thought that I was safe. Austin had just went potty and I had just reminded him to tell me when he had to go. So there I was checking my email. I told Austin tell mommy if you have to go potty. He replied "no." I said ok. Then he added "poop", in a very sad voice. Then it hit me, the smell I mean. Next I saw it. All over Tony's flip flops that he had been wearing that morning and falling onto the carpet. Great. Just terrific. So I carry him, with outstretched arms holding him far away from my own body, to the bath to rinse him clean. While he is getting clean I go off to the dining room to be the great multi-tasker I am. I figure I might as well tackle the poop clean up while he plays in the bath. Wrong decision. He was being quiet. Too quiet. So I decide to check up on the little guy. There he is. He had gotton the package of toilet paper out and decided that he needed to wipe his bottom. He is not so talented in this arena. The whole roll of toilet paper was either shredded in the tub or sopping wet outside the tub, lying on the floor. Well it's only 12:15 here, we will see how the rest of the day pans out. Here's an ode to the joys of motherhood.

Potty Training: Day 1.5

So, by choice of Austin, we are officially potty training. Yea! Go Austin! He is doing great. We have had minimal (by minimal I mean like less than 5), accidents. He thinks that he is super cool now that he no longer sports the diaper. I swore before that I would never do the whole pull-up thing but now with our trip down south coming up I think that the pull-ups are needed. Funny thing, as I am writing this post Austin approaches me with wet pants and tells me "pee, pee." Guess that is my cue to go. Wish us luck!

Daddy Rules The Nest

Tara says that it is supposed to be the roost, but that is justr not country. Since I am daddy, and I get the final words Tara my love is wrong. Addison will be called "sissy," while Austin will be called "bubba." Sometimes mothers have to give in to the father, and let the father have just a little bit of say so. I think that our children should realize that daddy is country, and this is the way to let them see that.

Saying good-bye to Disposables.

Three days till I place my order for cloth diapers. Am I excited? Yes. Am I nervous? Yes. We have decided to switch from diposables to cloth for many reasons; cut down on waste, save money, cotton is better, and all the chemicals that they put into disposalble diapers and wipes. Plus they are so darn cute! Iam a little nervous because there are so many options when choosing to CD. Which is best? I have no idea? This is what we are going to try: 2 doz. prefolds, 4 super whisper covers, 3 Bumgenius one size and maybe one wool soaker (for night). I am making my own wipes (they are cute!) and I will be using a natural diaper lotion potion concentrate in a spray bottle. Wish me luck as I venture into new territory. If you have any advice on CDing let me know. I am all ears.

We are also going to be potty training Austin after spring break. We were going to do it now but have decided to postpone due to our upcoming Disneyland trip. Call us crazy, I know. Taking an almost 2 yr old and 5 month old to Disney land is pretty out there and may be crazy and hectic. I do hope that fun is also in our forecast. What can I say. The parents want to go, grandparents are paying, and with God "all things are possible". Just joking, but seriusly if you think about it next week, keep us in your prayers. We hope that the toddler meltdowns are kept to a minimum. So that said, we are currently spending $110.00 or more on diapers. The intial cost of cloth will be under $300.00 and No more dipes for Austin. We will be saving a bunch in the long run.

I'm Back! What's in a nick name?

So I am going to try this blogging thing again. I really was not good at it last time. Time for round numero dos! Austin and Little Addison (well she really not so little) are growing up so fast. Austin is ready to potty train (however I am not ready) and Addison has started babbling. Addison's nick name is Addi-girl. Her Uncle started that from day one. I never thought that it would stick, but it has. Weird how that stuff happens. We hardly ever call her Addi but I do think that as she grows older we might more often. I think that we most often call her sissy or sissy-girl for the sake of Austin. Addison is to many silibles and Addi is too similar to Daddy. Austin has no nick names. Tony tries to insert the nick name "bubba". He claims that this is the country name for big brother. i don't know about this though. When I hear "bubba" I think of a big drooling dog. Yeah, I do not approve of calling my son "bubba". Sorry Tony.